Chapter 9 3. The Barbarian State: Chu

Are Chu people barbarians? Seems. Barbarians are relative to China.China is the country in the middle, or the country of the Central Plains.The third volume of the history of China, "Founders", said that people's worldview at that time was that the sky was round and the earth was round.The hemispherical sky is buckled on the square ground, which is called "Putianxia", or "Tianxia" for short.There are four seas on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the square, one each in the east, west, north, and south, called "Four Seas".The place where human beings live is among the four seas, which is called "within the four seas", or "inside the sea" for short.The middle of the sea or the world is called "China", that is, the state in the world or the four seas.Those who live in China are Zhuxia or Huaxia.The "non-Chinese peoples" in the east, west, and north are subdivided into Yi in the east, Man in the south, Rong in the west, and Di in the north;The so-called "rejection of barbarians" includes Dongyi, Nanman, Xirong, and Beidi.

◎The sky is round and the place is round.The circle is called Tianxia, ​​the square is called Hainei, and the square is called China. The difference between Huaxia and barbarians or Yidi mainly lies in the way of life.According to the "Book of Rites King System", Dongyi and Nanman "do not eat fire food", that is, they do not eat cooked food, but eat raw food; Xirong and Beidi "do not eat grain food", that is, they do not eat grain, but only meat.As for clothing, Dongyi was "tattooed" (pronounced as draped, which means draped), that is, with disheveled hair and tattoos on his body; Nanman "carved inscription Jiaozhi", that is, tattoos on his forehead and bare feet; , that is, with disheveled hair, don't wear silk or linen, but animal skins; Beidi "clothes and feathers cave dwelling", also don't wear silk or linen, and live in caves.In fact, there are also Wu and Yue who "cut off their hair and tattoos, and wear them naked as decorations", that is, they cut off their hair, have tattoos on their bodies, and do not wear clothes.

Obviously, the difference between Chinese and non-Chinese nations is cultural.But in the eyes of the "Chinese" at that time, it was equal to civilized and uncivilized, civilized and barbaric. This is not without reason. In fact, the use of fire, farming, sericulture and textile industry all mean the improvement of productivity.Using fire produces cooked food, farming produces grain food, raising silkworms produces silk, and weaving produces cloth.Therefore, drinking blood like hair, not eating food, not wearing clothes, wearing animal skins, and not knowing how to build a house are all backward performances.As for tattoos and tattoos, it is the fashion of primitive times.The so-called "being tattooed with elephant lin insects" just shows that these ethnic groups are still in the stage of reproductive worship or totem worship, and have not crossed the threshold of civilization.

Civilization is the suppression of barbarism, and this progress must be marked.For the Chinese nation, this symbol is hair.Because the restriction of hair means the restriction of oneself, and it is the restriction of morality.Therefore, it is uncivilized, even immoral, to break or loose hair.Nudity and tattoos, too.Because in order to show tattoos and tattoos, you can't wear clothes; and if you are naked and exposed, what is the dignity, what is the decency? Barbarians, aren't they uncivilized barbarians? As a result, a sense of cultural superiority arises spontaneously in the hearts of the Chinese nation.It is this sense of cultural superiority that made the Xias of the Central Plains look down on the surrounding ethnic groups, including contempt for Chu.

The origin of the Chu people is unclear now.The so-called "the ancestor of Chu came from Emperor Zhuanxu Gaoyang" is unreliable.Sima Qian himself also said that they were "either in China or in the barbarians, and they can never be remembered".What is more reliable is that Xiong Yi, the ancestor of the Chu people, led his troops to participate in the war against King Wu, and was named "Chu Man", known as "Chu Zi".Son, not necessarily a Viscount, but may mean "Lord of Barbarians".In fact, in the book "Spring and Autumn", the chiefs or monarchs of barbarians or Yidi are all called "zi".

It can be seen from this that although the Chu people had relations with China in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, they were not regarded as Zhu Xia.The Chu people themselves considered themselves barbarians.The kings of Chu, Xiong Qu and Xiong Tong, publicly said, "I am a barbarian."They say this for the purpose of becoming kings.Because the monarchs of various countries in China can only be called princes.Only Zhou Tianzi can be called king.So Xiong Qu said, "I am a barbarian, and I don't share the posthumous title of China."The meaning is also very clear: Since we Chu people are barbarians, why should we follow your Chinese rules?Xiong Tong was even more unceremonious, he simply called himself King Wu, openly sitting on an equal footing with the Zhou people's ancestors, completely ignoring the Lord of the World.

Looking at it this way, Chu is also the key target for respecting the king and fighting against the barbarians.Isn't it a big joke for them to fight for hegemony? Unfortunately this is true. We know that the so-called "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period" have always been said in various ways.But no matter which version is said, there are Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin and King Zhuang of Chu.It can be seen that Chu was the hegemony of the Spring and Autumn Period, and there is no dispute.In fact, the Spring and Autumn Period has just begun, and the Xias in the Central Plains have already felt the threat of Chu.To this end, Zheng Guo and Cai Guo held a league meeting in Deng (suspected to be in Luohe City, Henan Province today).At this time, Zheng Jun was Zhuang Gong.With the strength of Zheng Zhuanggong, even if he is so afraid of Chu, the other Xias can be imagined.

Zheng Zhuanggong's fear was justified.Because the Chu Jun at this time was Xiong Tong who claimed to be the King of Wu.At this time, the state of Chu was thriving.They have already controlled the Han River Basin and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. They regard the surrounding small countries and barbarian tribes as their own food and pockets, and they also covet the fertile land of the Central Plains for a long time.When King Wu was alive, all the countries with the Ji surname along the Han River were annexed by the Chu people.After his son King Wen succeeded to the throne, he set his capital in Yingcheng (now Jingzhou City, Hubei Province), and successively destroyed Shen Guo (surnamed Jiang, in present-day Nanyang City, Henan Province) and Deng Guo (surnamed Man, in present-day Xiangyang City, Hubei Province) , Xi Guo (surnamed Ji, in today's Xixian County, Henan Province), conquered Cai Guo (surnamed Ji, at this time in Shangcai County, Henan Province), and expanded the sphere of influence to the gate of Zheng Guo.

The people of Chu didn't seem to let go of Zheng Guo, because Zheng Guo was the hub and gateway of the Central Plains.Therefore, from King Wen to King Cheng, the Chu people attacked Zheng five times, and they must be forced to be friendly with themselves.For the last time, Zheng Wengong almost couldn't bear it anymore and planned to surrender to Chu State.Back then, Zheng Zhuanggong formed an alliance with Cai Guo just to deal with Chu State.Now that Cai Guo has become a pawn of the Chu people, who else can they rely on? Duke Huan of Qi.

---

Notes: